“I never write about people I know. I’ve always been against the idea of betraying any kind of confidence”: Are the touching tales of Jethro Tull’s Minstrel In The Gallery really just fiction?

Jethro Tull.

In 1975 Jethro Tull decamped to the French Riviera to record eighth studio album Minstrel In The Gallery. As the record celebrates its half-century, Ian Anderson recalls its creation between breaks in a lengthy touring cycle that would eventually lead to the departure of bassist Jeffrey Hammond – after having led Anderson himself to consider getting off the road for good.

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